2020-08-06 - What the Cyclops Said

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : (IMG: Heart candies with a single letter each on their face set against black tissue paper, arranged to read, on three separate lines: UM / YO / SIS )

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : (IMG: Another arrangement of the same candies: IS MOUSY )

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : ???

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : (IMG: And another! IS UM / SOY )

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : It's almost certainly one of those. Unless it isn't.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : (IMG: YOU MISS )

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : But what if I'm using text speech in the message? YO U SIMS

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : SIMS can't come to the phone right now. They're busy setting their house and kids on fire.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : Everyone has to have goals, I suppose.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : (...)

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : The joke I was going to make is not appropriate.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : So you've stopped saying inappropriate things these days? New Years resolution?

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Tread carefully, 8.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : I'm trying to be nice.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : I appreciate it. But be you. If you can't be you around me, not worth it, yeah? If I can't take you, shouldn't alter just for that. Unless it is one of those horrible things that could have been wildly misinterpreted. And then, all right. Be nice. 😉

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : It's one of those horrible things that could've been wildly misinterpreted 😉

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : It was funny in my head. And just bad when I started typing it out.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : We can both learn. See?

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : Fair enough, then. And we can, yeah. Favorite candy?

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Free.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : But also: gummy watermelons.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : The sour ones.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Or watermelon zotz.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : Good choices. And not even a maybe in there. Do watermelon shapes taste different then the bears, or worms, or others? Or just all about the size and shape?

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Uh. Yes.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : They are a completely different thing!

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : But all gummies are pretty great.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Almost always have worms on hand.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : Hard to go wrong with gummies. You subscribe to gummies on ice cream?

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Sometimes. Also: nerds.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Nerds on ice cream is pretty great.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Why the sudden interest in my sweet tooth?

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Also.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : (IMG: The hearts, this time with skittles scattered around: IS SO YUM )

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Pretty sure that's the right one 😉

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Describes both the contents and the recipient.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : First? Fairly safe topic. Second - the skull candy dish. Third, maybe we will do ice cream if we go for a drive Sunday.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : You sure about Sunday?

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : (laughing face) All right. I'll accept that spelling choice.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Knowing how things went last time?

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : I think it's worth us having a conversation and a drive, yeah? And our drives never went bad. Horrible endings with work calls, sure... but you know what I mean. Was I hurt and angry at the end? Yeah. But I sure wouldn't have given up all the long drives, nights at the trailer, card readings, anatomy lessons, hands together just to avoid it. It all made it worth it.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : How do you feel about it? Knowing how things went?

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Figure things will go bad again eventually.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : And?

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : I think we hit these parts where we can't understand each other.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : And.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : I can handle some hurt when the good outweighs it.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : But I don't like the idea of going into this entirely selfishly.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Expecting a bad end.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Without your buy-in.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Cuz I know how seriously you take this stuff.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : I don't want to intentionally hurt you.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : I don't want to carelessly hurt you.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : I think everyone hits spots where they have trouble communicating. Or timing. Or money. We just sorta went into the problems with as much heat as we went into the good things. And explain a bit what you mean without my buy in?

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Willingness to take the risk. Awareness that this might be a bad idea.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Acceptance of the possibility of hurt and disaster.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : Yeah. It might end bad. And I don't want to hurt you, which is why I was so tentative at your house. You said up front it'd go until it wasn't fun anymore. It won't always be fun. Plenty of challenges to be faced. I wasn't sure if you were up for that. But going into it? It'd always be about respect. That when we hit those obstacles, it isn't cause you are trying to hurt me, or whatever. It's just the medium, and we pause and work through it.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : Not all our fights were here.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : It's not always the medium.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : Not always the medium. But I don't think the hurt was ever intentional. It's about taking a moment to breath and talk through it.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : And if taking the moment means walking away? And the moment lasts a few days?

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : You don't have to answer that.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : I'm down.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : For Sunday.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : To see where this goes.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : I'd appreciate knowing that the walking away isn't permanent. If you, or I, need a few days... we need a few days, yeah? And good. No maybe in there this time. Sunday then... I'll pick you up at your place.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : There's still plenty of maybe about all of this.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : But I'm down for Sunday.

(TXT to Yule) Sparrow : See you then, Eight.

(TXT to Sparrow) Yule : See you then, Cards.